AUTHOR=Wang Jiangwei , Yu Chengqun , Fu Gang 

TITLE=Asymmetrical Warming Between Elevations May Result in Similar Plant Community Composition Between Elevations in Alpine Grasslands

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.757943

DOI=10.3389/fevo.2021.757943

ISSN=2296-701X

ABSTRACT=Asymmetrical warming between elevations is a common phenomenon and warming magnitudes increases with increasing elevations on the Tibetan Plateau, which in turn may reduce temperature differences between elevations. However, it is still unclear how such phenomenon will affect plant community composition in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. Therefore, in this study, we performed an experiment at three elevations (i.e. 4300 m, 4500 m and 4700 m) in alpine grasslands, Northern Tibetan Plateau since May, 2010. Open top chambers were established at the elevation 4500 m and 4700 m. Plant species and phylogenetic composition were investigated in August, 2011-2019. There were no significant differences in plant species and phylogenetic composition, environmental temperature and moisture conditions between the elevation 4300 m under non-warming conditions and the elevation 4500 m under warming conditions in 2019. There were also no significant differences in plant species composition, environmental temperature and moisture conditions between the elevation 4500 m under non-warming conditions and the elevation 4700 m under warming conditions in 2019. Therefore, the narrowing temperature difference between elevations may result in plant community composition between elevations tending to be more and more similar in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau under future elevational asymmetrical warming.